Paik Nam June Media Bridge / Planning Korea

Korean creative director Byung Ju Lee of Planning Korea announced a new paradigm in bridge called ‘Paik Nam June Media Bridge’ in Seoul, Korea. Connecting Dangi-li Power Plant (which has a plan to be redeveloped into public cultural space) in the north and The National Assembly Building in the south, this bridge shows the first example of ‘a city expanded to the river’. Similar to the Thames River and the Seine River, the Han River in Seoul crosses the center of a city, however is of a much larger scale. There are almost 30 bridges over the Han River, but most of them were made of steel and concrete construction. Paik Nam June Media Bridge approaches the concept of crossing the Han River in a more sculptural, futuristic, and eco-friendly way. Inspired by the water strider, the overall shape is organic, with a sleek streamlined outline. This mega structure bridge is covered with solar panels to generate energy by itself, and totals a length of 1080m.

This bridge has the capability to accommodate cars, pedestrians, and bicycles. People can enjoy a public museum and library with the latest IT technology. In addition, water taxis, yachts and cruise ships can dock at the base of the bridge. The sustainable green space over the bridge is a circulated vertical and horizontal garden. The gardens would utilize the local resources, for example river and rain water along with natural light and ventilation. To celebrate world famous video/media artist Nam June Paik, the whole skin of the bridge can be used as a canvas for media and video artist all over the world. This project is currently in progress of being reviewed to be developed as a BTL (Build-Transfer-Lease) project.